Just Shoot Me
by fuzzyfishbowl
Summary: When Craig takes a summer photography course, he gets more then he bargained for...a romance with the teacher. FINISHED
1. Default Chapter

*Summary: When Craig takes a summer photography workshop, he gets more then he bargains for...a romance with the teacher!  
  
Part One:  
  
School had just gotten out for the summer, and Joey walked into the living room to find his stepson, Craig, lying on the couch and staring at the TV. He almost looked dead. "Um...Craig."  
  
"Eh?" Craig barely moved to look up at his stepfather. "Hey, Joey," he mumbled lazily, turning to stare at the television again. "The Price is Right" was on.  
  
"Craig, are you gonna spend your whole summer like this?" Joey asked impatiently, taking a seat in a chair next to the couch.  
  
"Yes." Craig didn't even look at him: he was watching as the models presented the prize showcases: a brand new boat, a convertable, a kitchen set...  
  
Click. Joey turned off the TV. "Dude!" Craig yelled. "I was watching that!"  
  
"You looked like the TV was gonna suck you in!" Joey replyed, looking half amused and half annoyed. "I did you a favor, man."   
  
"Whatever." Craig turned on his side to stare at the ceiling. Joey took this minute to examine his stepson. It had been only a few weeks since his real dad had died. Joey had had high hopes for Craig's quick recovery: he'd gone to school right away, and had even taken the girl he liked, Ashley, to the end of year dance...and gotten crowned king! But as soon as school had let out, he'd slipped into a sort of depressed state. Joey was concerned.  
  
"Why don't you call Ashley up? Maybe you two can go out tonight."  
  
"Nah," Craig said indifferently. "She's probably busy with her friends or something."   
  
"Well, maybe you can have the guys come over," Joey said, getting desprate. "I can take Angela to her grandmother's. And I have plans, so you guys can have the house to yourselves."  
  
But that didn't work, either. Craig sat up and sighed. "I'm just not feeling too good today, Joey. I think I'm gonna go to be for awhile." Joey watched sadly as his stepson trugged up the stairs. What can I do for that boy? He needs a distraction, Joey knew. Something to take his mind off what's happened...  
  
Later that day, Joey was rifling through the mail, when he found a letter for him from Degrassi. It read, TO THE PARENT/GUARDIAN OF CRAIG MANNING. Joey opened it and read:  
  
DEAR PARENTS/GUARDIANS:  
  
AS A NEW CURRICULUM AT DEGRASSI COMMUNITY SCHOOL, ALL STUDENTS ARE REQUIRED  
  
TO ATTEND ONE SUMMER ACTIVITY COURSE AT THE SCHOOL, TO GO TOWARDS GRADUATION  
  
CREDITS. COURSES ARE FREE OF CHARGE TO ATTEND, AND ALL EXTRA EXPENSES WILL BE  
  
PAID FOR BY THE SCHOOL. PLEASE FILL OUT THE FOLLOWING FORMS, SELECTING THE   
  
COURSE THAT YOUR CHILD WOULD LIKE TO TAKE, AND RETURN TO THE SCHOOL BY MONDAY,  
  
JUNE 15TH. FURTHER INFORMATION WILL BE SENT AT A LATER DATE INVOLVING COURSE  
  
SCHELDULES AND REQUIREMENTS. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME.  
  
YOURS SINCERLY,  
  
MR. RADDITCH (DEGRASSI PRINCIPAL)  
  
Joey read over the letter. Hmm...a required summer course. That didn't sound too bad...and he wouldn't have to convince Craig to take it, because it was required.  
  
Joey looked over the form, and the list of classes. BEGINNER COOKING? Pass. ARCHERY? No. Joey knew that he should probably have Craig make the choice, so he took the letter up to his stepson's room.  
  
Craig had only been out of the room that day to get some food and pee. He was still lying in bed when Joey knocked and came in. "Craig? I got a letter from your school..."  
  
Craig read it over quickly. "That's so lame," he protested, shoving the letter back to his stepfather.  
  
"Yeah, I know. But it's required."  
  
"Whatever. They can't make me."  
  
"You have to do it so you graduate." Joey could feel his anger start to build up, but he stopped himself from yelling. "Look, just look over the courses and find one that doesn't sound horrible."  
  
Craig looked it over. "There's a photography class," Craig said, not sounding too enthusiastic. "Go ahead and sign me up for that, I guess."  
  
Joey took the forms and filled them out, and dropped them off at the school on his way to work the next day. He was hopeful that this course, which involved the thing Craig most loved to do, would be the thing to get his stepson back on his feet.  
  
He had no idea. 


	2. Part two

Part Two:  
  
Craig showed up to the photography class for the first class. It was at the school, in one of the classrooms he'd never been in. He didn't know many of the kids that were coming into the class, but he saw a familiar face in the crowd.  
  
Ellie Nash.  
  
Craig waved at her, and she nodded grimly at him. He took that as a sign that it was okay to sit with her. He went and took the desk next to the one she'd choosen. "Hey, Ellie," he said casually. He didn't know her that well, but she'd been in a lot of his classes that last year, and was good friends with Ashley.  
  
"Hey," she said casually. She was never one for much warmth.  
  
"How's it goin'?" he asked, trying to make conversation. He had to admit, being cooped up in the house for the past couple of weeks (even if by choice) had seriously sucked.  
  
"Alright," she said, not asking how it was going with him (after all, everyone knew how he must be, considering what had just happened). "Oh, Ashley is really pissed off at you."  
  
"What? Why?"  
  
Ellie rolled her eyes at him. "Just call her, okay? She doesn't like to be ignored."  
  
"If she wanted to talk, she should've called me," Craig said, defensive. But Ellie just rolled her eyes.  
  
"Okay, everyone, let's quiet down now," the teacher said as she came into the room. She was fairly tall, with a medium build. She was dressed very casually, unlike any teacher Craig had ever seen before: a black Led-Zeppelin T-shirt, a pair of faded jeans, sneakers. Her curly red hair was tied in a loose ponytail, and she was wearing no makeup to cover up her many freckles.  
  
But then again, it was only a summer class.  
  
"My name is Miss Roberts. I'll begin teaching history to most of you next year. But right now, we're in photography class." She looked around the room. "I see that some of you have brought your own cameras, and some of you have not. We have enough cameras to go around, but I'm glad to see that some of you have your own: it'll make projects a lot easier for you." She came around to examine all the cameras and stopped at Craig's desk. Of course, he'd brought his. "Do you mind if I...?"  
  
"Uh, go ahead," Craig said, and the teacher picked up the camera, carefully examining it.  
  
"This is the Fuji Finepix S2 Pro, right?" she asked, still examining the camera. Craig nodded, and she continued to examine it. "Hm...low noise, easy operation, good digital images..."  
  
"Yeah, but I mostly develope it the old-fashioned way," Craig said, feeling his face begin to get hot.  
  
"I see..." Miss Roberts smiled at him and handed his camera back. "You have a fine camera there."  
  
"Thank you."  
  
As Miss Roberts went away to look at some more of the students cameras, he watched her. She wasn't exactly thin, but she wasn't fat, either. She had a pretty nice body. And her smile...  
  
Craig noticed that Ellie was watching him. He cleared his throat carefully and pretended to be messing with something on his camera. But he couldn't stop thinking about that teacher.  
  
The first class was mostly an introduction to the cameras, which bored Craig to no end. But most of the kids in the class didn't have a camera, so they didn't know how to operate them. Miss Roberts gave them the school's crappy cameras, and showed them how they worked. Craig was bored, but he went along with it, looking up once in a while.  
  
Was it his imagination, or was Miss Roberts looking at him more then any other student? 


	3. Part three

Part Three:  
  
Ashley Kerwin tapped her pen against her notebook impatiently. She was trying to come up with a poem for the summer writing class she was taking, but nothing was coming to mind. Finally, she slammed her notebook shut: she was too distracted.  
  
She'd hung out with Ellie the night before, who'd told her that Craig was in her photography class. Well, surprise, Ashley thought sarcasticly. She knew that Craig was attached to his camera.   
  
Craig...whom she'd barely spoken to since school had ended. Who hadn't even bothered to call her, even after they went to the dance together and got crowned king and queen...  
  
Suddenly, the phone rang. Assuming it was Ellie (who hadn't mentioned any details about her photography class), she picked it up and mumbled a dull "hello?".  
  
"Ash? It's, um, Craig." Ashley straightened up at the sound of his voice.  
  
"Craig, hi!" she said, her voice immediately more upbeat.  
  
"Hey," he said. "How's it goin'?"   
  
"Um, pretty good," Ashley said, which wasn't totally a lie: she'd been having a good time hanging out with her friends so far that summer. She just wished she could spend some time with him... "How about you?"  
  
"Uh, you know...busy." Craig only said to it spare Ashley's feelings, as a reason why he didn't call her. She relaxed.  
  
"Really? What've you been up to?" She asked it very casually, but Craig felt guilty.  
  
"Uh, you know...work and stuff."  
  
"I see." Ashley decided not to delve any deeper. She cleared her throat. "So, um...I hear you're taking a photography class for the summer activity thing."  
  
"Yeah," Craig said. "I can't believe they're making us take a summer class. But at least I get to do something I like, eh?"  
  
"Totally," Ashley agreed. She flipped over onto her back. "I'm taking a writing class."  
  
"Oh, cool." Craig knew that Ashley had been getting into poetry that year. "I didn't think you'd take something lame, like beginner cooking or something." They laughed together. Ashley figured that it was time:  
  
"So, you doing anything tonight?"  
  
At eight o'clock that evening, Craig found himself on the Kerwin's doorstep. He rang the doorbell and waited.  
  
Toby answered the door. Craig barely knew him: they'd only had a run-in once, when Toby and J.T. wanted help getting a peek at the bachelor party that Joey was throwing for Mr. Simpson. Toby didn't say anything to Craig: he just turned around and yelled into the house: "ASHLEY! YOUR BOYFRIEND IS HERE!" Craig felt his face grow hot.  
  
Ashley came to the door, shoving Toby back and giving Craig an embarressed smile. "Sorry about that," she said.  
  
"No problem," Craig said, forgetting his embarressment. Ashley looked good: she wore a black spagetti-strap top and a long, dark purple skirt, with her favorite black boots. Her short, black hair had changed, too: she'd added dark purple streaks to it. "Wow, Ash, you're hair looks really cool."  
  
"Thanks," she said, clearly embarressed. "I, um, just put in some temporary stuff, for tonight." She shut the door behind them and they stepped off the porch.  
  
"Well, you should think about making it permanant," he said as they headed down the sidewalk. Ashley was beaming, and Craig felt good that he was making her smile.  
  
They decided on a movie at the mall, and some food at the food court. Completely unoriginal, but it was all they could think of at the last minute. The only movie that was starting when they arrived was a stupid-looking teen flick, but they decided to take their chances on it. It wasn't like they actually payed attention, anyway...they were busy with, um, other things.  
  
After the movie, they spilled out with the rest of the audience into the mall. "Was that movie lame or what?" Ashley asked.  
  
"What movie?" Craig asked innocently, and Ashley laughed.  
  
They decided to grab some Chinese food and eat there. The food court was crowded with hungry post-movie-goers, and the only place they could find to sit was a small table in the corner. It was hidden behind a pillar, so Craig figured that nobody would see them.  
  
He figured wrong.  
  
"Ash! Craig!" Craig turned around in his chair to see Paige Michlachuck, Hazel Aden, and Terri McGregor heading towards them. Ashley stood up a little bit and waved, and the small group stopped at their table.  
  
"Hey, what've you guys been up to?" Paige asked, wagging her eyebrows in a suggestive manner. Craig rolled his eyes: oh, brother.   
  
"We just went to go see the new Freddie Prinze Jr. movie," Ashley said innocently, and the three other girls exchanged knowing glances. Hazel actually giggled. Craig thought he was going to hurl. "So, what're you guys doing?"  
  
"Oh, you know: just taking advantage of the early-summer sales," Paige said, holding up her shopping bag. She glanced at Craig. "Anyway, we better be going. Behave, you two!" Hazel wagged her finger at them before following Paige away. Terri said, "I'll call you!" before following them. Craig was more then relieved to see them go, and Ashley could tell.  
  
"Uh, sorry about that," she said for the second time that night. It was beginning to sound like her mantra.  
  
Craig shrugged and ate some more of his chicken stir fry. They'd been having a really good time, but now it felt like the mood had been broken.  
  
They went home soon afterwards, sharing one last kiss. "'Bye," Ashley said in a sexy voice before going inside. Craig walked off the porch, thinking about the last kiss. He felt so confused: he liked Ashley, a lot. She was good for him: sweet, fun...mature. But, her friends and family didn't seem to be as mature as she was.  
  
Stop it, he told himself harshly. I'm not gonna make excuses anymore not to be with her.  
  
But he had a strange feeling that that wasn't what he was doing... 


	4. Part four

Part Four:  
  
The next photography class was a lot more exciting then the first. Miss Roberts took them outside with their cameras. As they stood on the stairs, she went down into the school yard and gestured around her. "This," she cried out enthusiasticly, "can all be art!"  
  
Most of the class thought she was insane. Today, her red hair was flying free. She wore a tie-dyed Joe's Crab Shack tshirt, jeans, and flip flops. Craig thought she was incredibly cool. Although he'd never thought of the school yard as "art", he could see what she meant: after all, as a photographer, he knew that art was everywhere.  
  
"You have all been provided with a roll of film," she said. "I'm going to set you loose around the neighborhood. Use the whole roll, and meet back here in half an hour." With that, the class was off.   
  
Nobody really seemed to know what to do, and began snapping pictures of anything and everything. Craig, on the other hand, was a lot more careful. He walked around, looking for something to take a picture of, getting his "subjects" at the right angle, ect. He didn't know that a very curious Miss Roberts was watching his every move...  
  
A half hour later, everyone met at the stairs leading up to the front door. Miss Roberts led them back into the school, and into the darkroom. Craig had been there before, to develope pictures for the school newspaper. Miss Roberts went through another boring talk about how to develope the pictures, mix the chemicals, blah blah blah. "Okay, everyone, start developing."  
  
Craig, like a pro, mixed his chemicals and set to work. His first developed picture was of the Degrassi St. sign, taken in black and white. He hung it on the line and began to develope his picture of a squirrel on one of the picnic benches. He didn't notice Miss Roberts once again, as she came up behind him to examine the photos.  
  
"Nice," she murmured, causing Craig to jump and almost lighten his picture of a startled-looking Ellie (he'd caught her by surprise in a priceless photo-op) too much. "Oh, sorry!" Miss Roberts said, embarressed that she'd nearly ruined his picture.  
  
"No, that's okay," Craig said, trying to get his composure back. He finished developing the picture of Ellie and hung it up. Miss Roberts examined it, and the other pictures.  
  
"Hm..." she said thoughtfully. She gave Craig a smile. "I have a feeling that you've done this before, Craig."  
  
Craig didn't ask how she already knew his name when she was having trouble remember rememberign anyone eles's (she'd called Ellie 'Emily' and a boy named Tom became 'Timothy'). He just shrugged. "Yeah, I've been doing photography for a couple of years now."  
  
"You're very talented," she said softly, and Craig noticed how close she was standing to him.  
  
"Um...thank you."  
  
"Better be getting around to helping the others." With that, Miss Roberts smiled at him and went away. Craig stared after her for a second, then gave himself a mental shake and got back to work.  
  
I can't be attracted to the teacher! he told himself. No, I can't be.  
  
Class ended an hour later, as the students left their finished photos (most of the amatuers were ruined and blotched) and left the school. Miss Roberts headed back to the classroom to get something, and Craig went out of the school. He was supposed to walk home, since it wasn't very far and Joey couldn't pick him up. But he was in no hurry, and he sat at the bench in the school yard and just relaxed.  
  
His trance was broken when the door to the school opened, and Miss Roberts came down the stairs, carrying a couple of boxes. "Oh," he said, jumping to his feet. "Here, let me take one of those."  
  
"Oh, thanks!" Miss Roberts gave Craig one of the boxes. "The school won't let me keep everything in the classroom, so I have to lug it home after every class." She led Craig to a white car: a Buick Skylark with a Grateful Dead skull sticker on the back bumper. Miss Roberts put her box on the ground, unlocked her car, and popped the trunk. "Just set it in there, careful now," she instructed. Craig carefully placed the box inside the near-empty trunk, and she put hers on top of the other and shut it.  
  
"There!" she exclaimed. She gave Craig a smile. "Waiting for a ride, then?"  
  
"Um...no. My stepdad told me to just walk home."  
  
"Oh, that's mean!"  
  
Craig shrugged. "Nah. It's not that far, and besides, he's busy at the car dealership, and stuff..." Craig trailed off, suddenly embarressed. He hoped that she wouldn't ask something about his mom or dad. But she just gave him a long look.  
  
Then she smiled again. "Well, thanks a lot." She was about to get in when she said, "Sure you wanna walk? How about I give you a ride?"  
  
"Uh, that's okay..." But Craig suddenly noticed how hot it was, and he realized that he didn't really want to walk two miles in the heat. He shrugged. "Okay. Sure, thanks."  
  
"Climb in." Miss Roberts got into the driver's seat, and Craig climbed in next to her. She started her car and turned on the radio. Craig vaguely recognized the song playing as a Guns N' Roses cut: his mom was a fan. "Is this okay?"  
  
"Huh?" Craig had been in his own world, and was startled when Miss Roberts spoke.  
  
"The music. I can change it, if you want."  
  
"Uh...no. It's fine."  
  
"Good." Miss Roberts pulled out of the parking lot, heading down Degrassi St. "Just let me know where to-SHIT!"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Oh, sorry!" Miss Roberts cried, covering her mouth. "Shouldn't swear around the students." She laughed a little. "It's not like you've never heard that word before, anyway, eh?"  
  
"Yeah," Craig said, laughing slightly. "But, what's the matter?"  
  
"I just remembered that I was supposed to pick my dog up from my sister's an hour ago," Miss Roberts explained, slightly embarressed. "See, she had a doctor's appointment today, and if I hurry I can pick up Benji before she has to go." She sighed as she turned down a street. "Sorry about this, Craig. It's not too far out of the way, though..."  
  
"That's fine," Craig said, not really caring. "I don't have anything eles to do today, anyway." He felt like a loser saying that, but it was true.  
  
"Great. Thank you so much." Miss Roberts hummed along to the radio as it changed to a Van Halen song that Craig had heard a few times in his childhood. They soon arrived at a small, brown house. "You can wait, if you want..."  
  
"No, I'll come in," Craig said, following Miss Roberts up the sidewalk and to the front door. She knocked, and a taller, thinner woman with the same red hair as Miss Roberts came to the door.   
  
"Thank God you're here!" she cried. The woman looked very relieved. "Wait a sec." She went back inside for a moment, and came back carrying a little Yorkshire terrior. "Here! Take your mutt, I have to go."  
  
"Michelle, Benji is not a mutt."  
  
"Whatever. I'll call you." And the door closed. Miss Roberts laughed.  
  
"Sorry about my sister, she's a bit worked-up." She dropped her voice. "You see, she and her husband are trying to have a baby, and she's going to find out if she's pregnaut."  
  
"Wow," Craig said, not really sure what eles to say.  
  
Miss Roberts sighed. "Let's get you home." They got back into the Buick and headed out of the small neighborhood. Miss Robert's dog, who'd been in the back, had jumped up to the front and sat in Craig's lap. Craig scratched the small dog behind his ears. Whenever he stopped, the dog would scratch his hand.  
  
"Benji! Bad dog!" Miss Roberts said as she saw him scratch Craig. "Sorry about that, he's a brat."  
  
"That's okay," Craig said, scratching the dog again. "I've always wanted a dog, but..." he paused. "Um, my dad was allergic."  
  
The whole car was silent for a minute, except for ACDC's "Back in Black" playing. "Listen, Craig," she said suddenly. "I know about...what happened."  
  
"Yeah?" Craig didn't mean to sound so defensive.  
  
"Well, yes." Miss Roberts tapped her hands on the steering wheel as they stopped at a red light. "Everyone on staff knows."  
  
"Oh, you've been talking about me, eh?" Craig knew he was being mean for no good reason. Miss Roberts was trying to be nice, but he couldn't help himself.  
  
"Well, you know...they like to keep us all informed about, erm, special situations."  
  
"Yeah, mine's about as "special" as they come," Craig said sarcastically. "My dad used to beat me up, so I went to live with my widowed stepdad. Then my dad died in a car accident. The end."  
  
"I'm sorry," Miss Roberts said. "I didn't mean to-"  
  
"Don't." Craig opened the door of the car. "I'll just get out here."  
  
"Craig, don't!" But she couldn't stop him. He was out of the street before the traffic began again, at least.  
  
As Craig watched Miss Roberts car pull away, he knew he was being foolish. But he didn't need to be reminded of the thing he was trying to escape. Especially from his photography teacher. 


	5. Part five

Part Five:  
  
The next day, Craig felt horrible about the way he'd treated Miss Roberts. So horrible that he looked her address up in the phone book. In the information that Mr. Radditch sent before the course had begun, it said that Miss Roberts first name was Carrie. Craig saw that a Roberts, Carrie lived in downtown Toronto.  
  
Craig took the bus to the stop nearest 7th Ave, the street that Miss Roberts lived on. He found 1475: an apartment building that looked a little run-down. Well, how much could she make on a teacher's salary? he thought as he went into the front lobby.  
  
A bored-looking, overweight woman was playing a game on her computer when Craig came over. She looked up expectantly, as if she didn't get to help people very much. "What can I do for you, darlin'?" she asked in a southern-American accent.  
  
"Um, I need the number for Carrie Roberts apartment."  
  
"Alright..." The woman typed something into her computer. "Apartment 408 on the 4th floor." The woman looked at Craig again. "Is Miss Roberts expecting you?"  
  
"Um, no, it's sort of a surprise..." When Craig saw the woman's expression change from friendly to doubtful, he had a feeling that he may not be getting up to Apartment 408.  
  
"It's okay, Ms. Brewster, he's not a stalker or anything." Craig turned to see Miss Roberts approaching the desk. The woman behind it, Ms. Brewster, looked a bit flustered.  
  
"Well, you know, we have to be safe," she said, clearly embarressed. She quickly got back to her computer game.  
  
Miss Roberts smiled at Craig. "Hey, you wanna come up?"  
  
Craig shrugged. "Um, I just wanted to apologize. You know, for yesterday..."  
  
Miss Roberts smiled again. "It's alright." She peeked around him to look through the glass doors leading outside. "Did your stepfather drive you here?"  
  
"Um, no, I took the bus..."  
  
"Well, you came all that way," Miss Roberts said. "Why don't you come up, for a drink, maybe? I've got Coke..."  
  
Craig didn't want to make Miss Roberts any more upset at him, so he agreed. She led him into the elevator ("Hope this crappy old thing doesn't break down on us," she'd joked) up to the fourth floor. Her apartment, 408, wasn't far down the long hall. She opened it and went inside.  
  
"Weren't you going to go somewhere?"  
  
"Huh?" Miss Roberts was startled by his question as she led him into her small living room.  
  
"Well, you came down while the lady was questioning me," Craig said. "So, were you about to go somewhere?"  
  
"Um...no, I wasn't," Miss Roberts said, sitting down and gesturing for Craig to do the same. He sat on the worn-out couch. "I actually saw you come in. I was cleaning my window, you see, and I wanted to come down to make sure you weren't having any trouble with Ms. Brewster."   
  
"How do you know I was coming to see you?" Craig teased.  
  
Miss Roberts laughed. "Yeah, I'm sure that one of your good friends lives in a dump like this."  
  
"It's not that bad."  
  
"Yeah, right!"  
  
Craig looked around. Though the building itself wasn't that impressive, Miss Roberts had decorated her small space the best she could. The walls of the living room were painted a light purple, and her second-hand furniture was covered with dark red cloth. The walls had famous framed pictures: one of James Dean and Marilyn Monroe in a diner, one with a sailor kissing his girlfriend in Times Square, NYC with a caption that read VALENTINE'S DAY, a colored photo of the San Fransisco skyline.  
  
"I grew up there," Miss Roberts said, noticing that Craig was looking at that picture.  
  
Craig turned to her. "Really?"  
  
She nodded. "Yep. I'm not a Canadian citizen. Not yet, anyway. My sister and I moved here with our mother after, um, our father died."  
  
"Oh." Craig suddenly felt very stupid. "I'm sorry."  
  
Miss Roberts waved a careless hand. "It was a long time ago. I think you would've been about five then. But it happens, you know. Death is a part of life." Craig had a feeling that Miss Roberts wanted to say something eles. She's probably afraid that I'll go off on her, he realized.  
  
"Listen, Miss Roberts-"  
  
"You know, I'm not really into the whole "Miss Roberts" thing," she admitted. "I mean, I've never really taught before, you know? I think that I want my students to call me by my first name."  
  
"Carrie?"  
  
"Yeah. What do you think?" She looked at him expectantly.   
  
Craig shrugged. "I don't know any teacher that's done that before. It's cool, I guess." He cleared his throat. "But, um...I'm really sorry."  
  
"You already said that," she pointed out gentely. She stood up. "So, how about that drink? A Coke? Maybe with some rum, perhaps?" She looked serious, even though she was smiling. Craig couldn't help being surprised.  
  
"Um, I'm fifteen."  
  
Carrie rolled her eyes. "No duh. But come on, don't tell me you've never drank before."  
  
"I have," Craig said carefully. Nothing too strong, just some beer with Sean and his older brother.  
  
"Great! Two rum and Cokes it is, then!" Carrie went off to the kitchen to prepare the drinks. Craig, feeling akward sitting in his photography teacher's living room by himself, followed her. She was humming as she poured the clear rum and Coca-Cola into two tall glasses.  
  
"Miss Roberts?"  
  
She turned around. "Carrie, Craig. I want you to call me Carrie." Her green eyes were suddenly flashing as she handed him one of the glasses. "Well? What is it?"  
  
"I, um, this is weird."  
  
"What is?" She took a chug of her drink, and encouraged him to do the same. Craig did, trying to stop himself from making a face, before going on.  
  
"It's just...I've never had a teacher offer me alcohol before. Are you sure this is okay?"  
  
"As long as nobody finds out, it's perfectly fine." Carrrie grinned and led him back into the living room. He took his seat back on the couch, but she didn't sit back down. Instead, she stood next to the San Fransisco picture. "I actually took this picture."  
  
"Seriously?" Craig took another drink (it was so bitter!) and gulped. "It's really good."  
  
"It was just luck," she said humbly, taking a seat next to him. "I never really thought I was talented at photography. It's just a little hobby." She turned to him. "You, on the other hand, have a lot of talent."  
  
"Oh, thanks." Craig was beginning to feel strange. But it was a good strange.  
  
Miss Roberts...Carrie...put her hand on his leg. "I have to tell you, Craig, that you're one of the most talented amatuer photographers that I've ever come across. Your photos just have so much...emotion. Just raw emotion." She suddenly squeezed his leg, causing Craig to jump to his feet, sloshing a bit of the rum and Coke on his shirt.  
  
"Um, I have to go."  
  
"Craig." Miss Roberts calmly took his hand. "Don't be afraid."  
  
"I have to get home, my little sister-"  
  
"Craig." She pulled him back down onto the couch. "I want you."  
  
Craig heard a whimpering from the back of the apartment. "Um, you need to let your dog out, I think..."  
  
"He's okay in my bedroom." Miss Roberts reached for his face.  
  
"Miss Roberts-"  
  
"Carrie, Craig. Don't call me "Miss Roberts"."  
  
"I have-"  
  
His protest was blocked as she pressed her lips against his. Craig immediatly gave in, almost dropping his drink as he put his arms around her. He closed his eyes and savored the kiss...such a good, passionate kiss...  
  
But the situation hit him, and he pulled away. "We can't."  
  
"We can." She kissed him again, and this time he didn't pull away...  
  
All that happened that time was an intense makeout session on the couch. Carrie gave him one last gentely kiss on the lips before letting Craig go. "Will you be back tomorrow?"  
  
Craig considered it for a second. He had just cheated on his girlfriend with his PHOTOGRAPHY TEACHER. His older teacher. It was wrong...  
  
But then he glanced at the enlarged photograph of San Fransisco. Carrie was talented, whether she wanted to admit it or not. She was mature, she didn't have a bunch of giggly friends running around. And she was sexy. He couldn't deny that.  
  
Craig just nodded his head before rushing out of the apartment. 


	6. Part six

Part Six:  
  
Photography class became very akward. Watching Miss Roberts...Carrie...standing at the front of the room, demonstrating how to use the zoom features on the camera, was strange. Craig knew that the Black Sabbath t-shirt and jeans she wore would soon be lying on her bedroom floor...  
  
Craig began taking going to Carrie's apartment every afternoon. Sometimes he would take the bus, sometimes he would meet her on the corner of his street. He always lied to Joey and told him he was hanging out with Sean and the guys...sometimes Ashley.  
  
Yeah, right. Craig hadn't even spoken to Ashley since their date. It would be too different, now that he was seeing Carrie. He kept his relationship with her a secret.  
  
At first, it was just drinking and making out, or looking at famous pictures. Carrie had a passion for art, and Craig really admired that. He also liked what a good kisser she was...  
  
After a couple of weeks, Carrie and Craig were having a makeout session on the couch. Suddenly, when Craig leaned in to kiss her again, she held out a hand to block him. "What's wrong."  
  
Carrie smiled and took his hand. "Come on, Craig."  
  
"Wait, Carrie..." But she took his hand and led him from the couch, down the hall, and into her bedroom. Benji, who'd been trapped in there, ran out. Carrie closed the door behind him.  
  
"Are you ready?"  
  
"What?"  
  
Carrie pulled her concert shirt over her head to reveal a black bra. Then she pulled her pants off: a black thong. Craig took a minute to take in her body: not thin, like Ashley's. Carrie had large breasts, a big of stomach, thighs that touched. But she was beautiful. He watched as she layed down on the bed, waiting for him. "I want you, Craig," she whispered.  
  
Craig was ready. He could FEEL it. He got on top of her and kissed her on the lips. When he pulled away, she grabbed his face in both hands, wanting more. She managed to get him out of his shirt and unzip his pants before he knew what was going on. "Are you ready?" she asked again.  
  
"Yes."  
  
It was Craig's first time, but Carrie seemed experienced. When it was done, she stared at the ceiling, smoking a cigarette, which she said she only did after sex. She offered one to Craig, but he refused.  
  
Craig watched her blow smoke out of her mouth. "I don't really breath it in," she revealed. "I just puff on it a little."  
  
But he wasn't very interested in her smoking technique. "Carrie? How was it?"  
  
Carrie closed her eyes, and a little smile came on her face. "It was great."  
  
"It was?"  
  
"Um hmm," Carrie said dreamily. She opened her eyes again and looked at him. "Was it good for you?"  
  
It was. Craig had thought about sex before, and had masturbated, of course. But he had never imagined how good it would be. And he never would've thought that his first time would be with a woman over 10 years older then him.  
  
Sex became an almost daily thing for them after that. Most teenage boys would go bragging to their friends if they were getting that much action. Most of Craig's friends were virgins, except for Sean, who'd only done it once with a girl in his old town. But Craig didn't tell anyone: Carrie had made him promise.  
  
"If anyone, ANYONE, finds out about us...well, there'd be a lot of trouble."  
  
"There would?"  
  
Carrie nodded. They were sitting on her couch one afternoon, after they'd done it. She was sipping a strawberry margarita. "I mean, there's the fact that I'm your teacher, for one. I'd lose my job."  
  
"Yeah." Craig felt uncomfortable all of a sudden.  
  
"And, you're only 15. I'm 27. I would be in a lot of trouble."  
  
Craig figured it out. "You mean...statutory?"  
  
Carrie nodded. "It's all so complicated, Craig. But I know that I can trust you, right?" She was looking at him, with a look in her eyes that Craig found irresistable.  
  
"Yeah, of course."  
  
Carrie smiled and kissed him. The taste of cold strawberries and tequila filled Craig's mouth. When she pulled away, she smiled. "You better get going, your stepfather will be wondering where you are."  
  
"Okay." They kissed one more time, and Craig left the apartment. As he left the building, he could feel the eyes of the secretary watching him. It made him slightly nervous.  
  
Craig took the bus home, and arrived just as Joey was putting dinner on the table. "Hey," he said casually, and he began to set the table. But Joey was watching him carefully. Craig turned and saw Joey giving him a funny look. "What?"  
  
"You smell like smoke."  
  
Craig felt his stomach lurch. He was usually careful about changing his clothes after going over to Carrie's, but he'd forgotten today.   
  
"Oh. Um..."  
  
Joey cocked an eyebrow. "Let me smell your breath."  
  
"What? No way."  
  
But Joey already had. "Have you been drinking?"  
  
"What? No!"  
  
"Drinking AND smoking? Craig, what're you up to?"  
  
Craig didn't know what to do. He couldn't tell Joey the truth, it would ruin Carrie's life. So he came up with a workable story. He let out a sigh.  
  
"Yeah, Joey, I was."  
  
Joey crossed his arms over his chest. "With who?"  
  
"Sean." The name came out of his mouth too soon to stop it.   
  
"Sean." Joey sounded thoughtful. "I should've known."  
  
Craig felt so guilty. How could I just use Sean like that? he thought. I'm such a crappy friend.  
  
"I'm going to have to call his brother."  
  
"No, Joey, don't!"  
  
"Craig, I have to. He should know what Sean's been up to." Joey sighed. "Look, I used to experiment when I was younger, too, so I understand. But I don't want you coming home smelling and looking like that, Craig. I'm grounding you for a week."  
  
"Joey!"  
  
"Now, go change into different clothes and wash your mouth out. I don't want your sister to smell that."  
  
Craig knew that there was nothing he could do. Sean was going to know that Craig had used him, and that was that. Maybe I'll tell him the truth, Craig thought as he walked upstairs. He deserves it, now that I'm getting him in trouble.  
  
Craig knew that if there was one person he could trust, it was his best friend. 


	7. Part seven

Part Seven:  
  
The next day, Joey was at work. He knew perfectly well that if Craig really wanted to, he could break his punishment and easily sneak out.  
  
But Craig didn't. As Joey told him, he stayed home. He was actually a little relieved to have some time away from Carrie: it was all beginning to be too much. He'd called her the night before to tell her what happened.  
  
"Well, we'll just have to be more careful from now on," she'd said carelessly. "So, you're still coming over tomorrow, right?"  
  
"I can't," Craig said patiently. "I told you, I'm grounded."  
  
Carrie had actually laughed at that. "Grounded? Um, okay."  
  
"I have to stay home this week."  
  
"Craig? Doesn't your stepfather work during the day?"  
  
"Yes..."  
  
"So, just leave and pretend you were home all day," Carrie said impatiently, as if that were the most obvious thing in the world. "How's he ever going to know, anyway?"  
  
"He's going to call every hour," Craig lied. "Besides, he's not taking my sister to daycare this week, to make sure I stay home to watch her."  
  
"Well..." Carrie sounded defeated. "How about I come over?"  
  
Craig actually considered it...for about a millisecond. He knew how horrible that would be, to betray Joey by inviting his secret, older girlfriend over. "Can't, my sister..."  
  
"Oh." There was a long silence. "Well, I guess I'll see you in class next week..."  
  
"Yeah. Maybe we could get together afterwards?"  
  
"Sure." Carrie was suddenly in a big hurry to get off the phone. "Um, I'll call you tomorrow, Craig, okay?"  
  
"Yeah, 'bye." Craig felt a little guilty for lying to her: he really cared about her, a lot. He actually wondered if he loved her...but he didn't think so. Still, she did mean a lot to him. But we don't have to get together EVERY DAY, Craig told himself. This is for the best, we both need a break.  
  
So, Craig stayed at home the next day while Joey was at work and Angela was at daycare. Craig offered to watch her, but Angela had been intent on going. "Well, maybe I'll pick you up early," Craig said, which made both Angela and Joey very happy: Angela, because this probably meant ice cream and a trip to the park, and Joey, because it meant that Craig was going to fulfill his punishment.  
  
When they'd been gone for awhile, Craig decided to give Sean a call. As he suspected, Tracker told him that Sean was grounded (Joey had called him the night before), but he agreed to let Craig have a short talk with him.  
  
"Hello?" Craig had never heard a more pissed off "hello" in his life.  
  
"Hey, that 'hello' nearly killed me, man."  
  
"What do you want? To tell my brother more lies about me?"  
  
"Dude," Craig said in a whisper, "go into another room."  
  
"What?"  
  
"I have something to tell you, but..." Sean got the message and took the cordless phone to the bathroom.  
  
"Okay, now what is it?"  
  
Craig took a deep breath and launched into the story about his photography class, and his relationship with Miss Roberts, aka Carrie. Sean was in a stunned silence during the whole thing. When Craig was done, there was a long silence. "Um...Sean? Still there?"  
  
"Um...yeah. I am." Sean let out a breath. "Wow, that's..." He wasn't sure WHAT it was. Suddenly, his tone changed: "Um, what the hell does this have to do with you getting me grounded."  
  
"Carrie...urm, Miss Roberts...she likes to smoke and drink, and Joey smelled it on me last night, and-"  
  
"My name came up," Sean finished. His tone was as cold as it had been when he'd picked up the phone.  
  
"Look, man, I'm so sorry-"  
  
"What, like I was a convienant alibi or something?" Sean said coldly. "Oh, that's right: Jimmy or Marco would never do anything like this." His tone was sarcastic.  
  
"Look, it's not like that," Craig said impatiently. "I didn't mean to make you sound like a bad guy-"  
  
"Well, congratulations, buddy, 'cause that's exactly what you did."  
  
"Look, will you just LISTEN to me?" Craig yelled. "Your name was just the first to pop into my head, that's all. If it had been Jimmy or Marco, they'd be in the same boat as you right now."  
  
"No, they wouldn't," Sean said, almost as louded as Craig. But he lowered his voice because his brother was in the other room. "Look, none of them have ever had a probation officer, none of them have-"  
  
"I said I was sorry," Craig said in a quieter tone. "That's all I can do. I wasn't thinking, but...I couldn't exactly tell Joey the truth, could I?"  
  
Sean sighed. "No, you couldn't."  
  
"I really am sorry, dude," Craig said again. "You're my best friend, and I'm really glad that I told you what's going on. I can't trust anyone eles."  
  
Sean was quiet for a minute. "Thanks, man."  
  
"Are you in big trouble?"  
  
"Nah," Sean said casually. "Tracker just grounded me for a week, but said that if I'm caught with "that shit" again that he'll tell my probation officer." He sighed again. "I better go now, man, Tracker's starting to knock on the door."  
  
"Alright. Call me later?"  
  
"No problem." But before Sean hung up, he asked one last question: "Um, what about Ashley?"  
  
It was Craig's turn to sigh. "I don't know." 


	8. Part eight

Part Eight:  
  
After talking to Sean, Craig thought he would feel better. But he felt worse...about Ashley, that is.  
  
After his week's grounding was over, Craig went over to Carrie's house...most days. Sometimes he would make up an excuse not to go: it was just getting too intense for him. He said that he didn't Joey to find out what was going on. Carrie would become really quiet after that, and Craig would start to feel guilty all over again.   
  
One afternoon, Craig went to the mall with Sean. He seemed to have really forgiven him about the grounding thing, but he steered clear of talking about Craig's relationship with Miss Roberts. It was too weird to him. One day, he'd tried to tell Craig that he didn't think it was right, but Craig had become defensive. So Sean knew that the subject was off-limits.  
  
The truth was, Craig wasn't sure HOW he felt about Carrie anymore. He still thought she was beautiful, and he enjoyed talking to her about photography and art. And she was fun. But the relationship was becoming really intense. He'd tried to tell her that he was too young for it to go so far, but she would avoid that subject. "Relax, Craig," she would say. "Have a cigarette." He would always refuse.  
  
After a few photography classes, Ellie was back to ignoring Craig. She obviously knew that Craig hadn't called Ashley since his date with her, and was bitter at him. But Craig was too busy taking pictures to care. In one class, they'd taken a bus to downtown Toronto and taken a whole roll of pictures. Craig had gotten great shots: a sleeping homeless man, the glowing sign on a run-down diner, the still-standing Christmas tree in somebody's ground-floor apartment window. He liked all his pictures. So, apparently, did Carrie.  
  
After class, Craig would go home with Carrie. They tried to be really casual about it, in case anyone was watching: Craig would "help" Miss Roberts carry some boxes to her car. Then, he'd climb in, "for a ride home", and they'd head to her apartment for an afternoon together.  
  
But one day, that changed.  
  
In the middle of class, Mr. Radditch came wandering in. They were all currently laying out their favorite photos on the desk: every student was going to make a small collage consisting of the photos they'd taken. Craig looked up as the principal walked in. As usual, he was wearing a suit (in the SUMMER?!). He walked around the room, examining the photos the students had taken carefully. Craig wondered if it were his imagination, or Radditch spent a bit more time hovering over his desk then anyone eles?  
  
Then, the principal went over to Miss Roberts, who was sitting at the desk. They started talking, and Craig wondered if it was his imagination again, but...they kept looking over at him. Miss Roberts had a grim look on her face, and Craig quickly looked down at his pictures as he felt his stomach knot up. Oh, God, oh, God.  
  
After class, Miss Roberts went over to Craig. "Craig, could I see you for a second?"  
  
"Um, sure thing, Miss Roberts..." They went into a corner of the room as the students filed out. Out of the corner of his eye, Craig saw Ellie looking at him as she left the room. Or was he just being paranoid again?  
  
"Craig," Carrie said when everyone had left the room, "I think we may have a problem."  
  
Craig felt his stomach tighten up worse then before. "What did Radditch want?"  
  
"I...think he may know."  
  
"W-what makes you say that?" Craig felt a lump in his throat. He swallowed as Carrie continued.  
  
"He said he wants to see us in his office after class. We better get going."  
  
"Carrie, this may not be about us."  
  
"Craig?" Carrie looked at him. "Call me Miss Roberts."  
  
As they walked down the hall together, Craig felt like he was going to be sick. I'm gonna hurl, gonna hurl, gonna hurl, he told himself. He looked at Carrie...Miss Roberts...but she was staring straight ahead.  
  
They reached the door of Radditch's office, and Miss Roberts knocked. "Come in," the principal called. Miss Roberts opened the door, allowed Craig to walk in, and closed the door behind herself. Radditch looked up from his paperwork. "Ah, yes, take a seat, please." Craig couldn't help but notice that Radditch sounded a bit cheerful for what he was about to say. "Well, you must be wondering what this is about then?" Radditch continued. "Well, I'm sorry that I couldn't stay in your class longer to explain things to you, Miss Roberts, but I had some other teachers to talk to."  
  
"Oh." Miss Roberts face relaxed, and Radditch went on.  
  
"The superintendent wants us to showcase all of our new summer courses. We're going to set up a night next week with the teacher of each class and the selected student from that class to show what they've done that summer. In this case, we'll have you and Mr. Manning here with his photos on display." Radditch turned to Craig. "Only if you want to, of course, son." Radditch knew all about what happened to Craig that past spring, and was still treating him delicately.  
  
"Um...yeah!" Craig said. He was just so realived that this wasn't about him and Carrie. "That sounds cool."  
  
"Good, good." Mr. Radditch handed them both a paper with information on it. "We'll be setting up our displays next Friday, the showcase will be on Friday night."  
  
"Thank you, sir," Miss Roberts said with a smile as they all stood up. "Craig is my most talented photography student, and showing off his work would be an honor for me."  
  
"And me, too," Craig added, realived.  
  
"I saw some of your work in there," Radditch said as he shook Craig's hand. "You've really got a talent with a camera."  
  
"Thanks."  
  
They walked out of the office, silently, back to Miss Roberts room. As soon as they were back there, she let out a whoop. "Oh, my God! What a relief!"  
  
"I knew you were overreacting."  
  
"Oh, yeah!" she said sarcastically, still laughing. "You were practically peeing your pants in there."  
  
Craig grinned, and Carrie smiled at him. "You really are talented, you know."  
  
"Oh, stop," Craig said modestly.  
  
"It's true. And I don't just mean at photography." She had the same look in her eyes now that she had in the bedroom of her apartment. With that, she leaned in and kissed him.  
  
Neither of them saw Ellie this time, as she saw them as she peeked through the window. When she saw them kissing, she turned and ran. 


	9. Part nine

Part Nine:  
  
That night at dinner, Craig told Joey about the showcase of his photographs. Joey had seemed very proud: "I knew that this summer class would be good for you!" was the way he put it.  
  
"Can I see your pictures, Craig?" Angela asked sweetly.  
  
"Sure, maybe your dad can bring you to the show." Craig looked at Joey, who nodded at his daughter. She squealed: she loved looking at her older brother's pictures. Although she was a bit too young to really appreciate his talent, she said that a lot of the pictures he took were "pretty".  
  
After dinner, it was Craig's turn to do the dishes. As he did them, he heard the phone ring. "I've got it!" Joey called out. Craig went back to work as he heard Joey talk on the phone. But a second later, Joey was in the kitchen. "It's for you," he said. Craig dried his hands quickly. As Joey handed his the phone, he said in a whisper, "It's a girl." Craig rolled his eyes as he took the phone.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"I know what you've been doing."  
  
"Huh?" Craig vaguely recognized the voice, but who was it. "What are you talking about?"  
  
"I know everything," the girl continued. "You better stop, or I'll tell...the principal, superintendant...Ashley."  
  
"Ellie?" Craig whispered, more to himself then the speaker. "How do you-"  
  
"I'll tell Ashley," she repeated, "unless you break up with Miss Roberts."  
  
"What the-"  
  
The dial tone rang in his ears as Ellie hung up the phone. Craig stared at the reciever until he managed to click the phone off. He went back to hang it up on the charger.  
  
"Who was that?" Joey was sitting in the living room, reading the newspaper.   
  
"Um...Ashley," he lied.  
  
"Oh?" Joey looked very interested. "Haven't gone out with her in awhile, have you?"  
  
"Nah, but...I'm thinking maybe I'll go over there tonight. After I finish the dishes."  
  
"No, no, don't worry about those," Joey said, standing up. "Go now, I can take care of the dishes."  
  
"Really?" Craig contained his excitement. "Thanks, Joey. I'll try not to be out long." With that, Craig rushed out the door. He had no intention of going to Ashley's...not tonight, at least. No, he had to go and talk to Miss Roberts.  
  
He went to a pay phone on the corner and called her. "I need you to pick me up on the corner."  
  
"Oh? You want to spend the night?" She had that tone in her voice again.  
  
"No, um...we need to talk."  
  
"Okay." Carrie knew that nothing good came out of those words. "I'll be there soon." She hung up, and Craig went and sat on a bench.  
  
A little while later, Carrie pulled up in her Buick. Craig got in the front seat, and, without looking at him, she asked, "Where do you want to go?"  
  
"Let's just drive." Carrie took off down the street. Craig reached over and turned off her radio: The Doors "Roadhouse" had been playing. Carrie glanced at him out of the corner of her eye.   
  
"What do you want to talk about?"  
  
"Us." He swallowed and continued: "Someone knows about us."  
  
"Who? How?"  
  
"It's...Ellie Nash."  
  
"The girl from my class?" Carrie asked. "How did she find out?"  
  
"She called me up tonight, said that she saw us through the window today-"  
  
"SHIT! SHIT! SHIT!"  
  
There was an akward silence in the car. Craig had to keep going, he knew. "She said that she'll rat us out if we don't break it off."  
  
"Why would she do that?"  
  
Craig couldn't lie. "She's friends with this girl I was kinda seeing, before...you know..."  
  
"I see." Another silence before Carrie continued. "I'm thinking about moving back to San Fransisco."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"I still have relatives there. And..." She took a deep breath. Suddenly, she pulled the car over and looked at Craig. "I think I'm in love with you."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
Carrie moaned. "No! That's not right. Look..." she turned away. "I'm sorry, Craig, but I have to go."  
  
"What about your job?"  
  
"Well, it's obviously ruined now," she said with a laugh. "Anyway...I'm going to resign tomorrow, and pack up my things. I'll be okay." There were tears in her eyes.  
  
"You don't have to go," Craig said sofly. "I can make her stay quiet, I know I can. She said she wouldn't tell if we broke it off-"  
  
"But don't you SEE, Craig? It's over. We're not a secret anymore."  
  
"Why do we have to be a secret?"  
  
Carrie never replyed to that. She just leaned over and kissed Craig, one last time. "You'll never see me again, Craig. I'm so, so sorry that I did this to you."  
  
"Goodbye." Craig knew that there was no way to convince her: she wanted to leave, and she would. Craig got out of the car.  
  
"Wait, don't you want me to take you somewhere?"  
  
Craig smiled at her. "We're close to the place I'm heading. Goodbye, Miss Roberts."  
  
As Craig walked away into the night, he could vaguely hear her whisper, "It's Carrie." 


	10. Part ten

Part Ten:  
  
Ashley only lived about three blocks from where Carrie had dropped Craig off. And he figured that if he should tell her about Carrie, the time was now.  
  
He arrived at Ashley's and was about to ring the doorbell when he froze. He remembered Toby yelling, "Ashley, your boyfriend's here!" It was embarressing, but when he looked back on it, it wasn't so bad. He knew that little siblings could be that way, whether they were five or fourteen. I can accept that, he thought.  
  
He almost pressed her finger on the doorbell when another thought came back to him. The girls at the mall. Paige's suggestive comments. But then again...it WAS Paige. I can accept that, too, I guess, he thought. He really cared about Ashley, and if going out with her meant having to deal with the other crap, he knew he could do it.  
  
If she'd take him.  
  
And he rang the doorbell.  
  
To his relief, it was Ashley who answered the door. But she didn't look so happy at the sight of him. "Oh, hi," she said. She sounded almost as cold as Sean had on the phone.  
  
"Hi," he said, suddenly feeling very akward. "Um...can we talk."  
  
"Yeah," she said, stepping outside. "We'll take a walk." Craig, who was feeling tired, had been hoping to sit down. But if she wanted to walk, he would walk.  
  
For the first couple of minutes, they headed down the street. Craig didn't know what to say. But just when he'd thought of something, Ashley spoke: "What's been going on with you?"  
  
She didn't know? "Have you talked to Ellie today?"  
  
"No, what does that have to do with anything?" Ashley demanded. Her eyes widened. "You two haven't-"  
  
"No!" Craig reassured her. He wasn't sure if that was worse then his real news. "No, no!"  
  
"Okay," she said slowly. "Well...have you been seeing anyone? Why haven't you called me?"  
  
"I..." Craig took a deep breath. He almost didn't want to tell her. He wanted to lie again, say he'd been thinking about his parents a lot lately. An orphan's faithful alibi. She'd buy it, he knew she would. But he knew that she deserved the truth. And he was tired of lying, especially to her. "I've been seeing someone."  
  
"I figured," she said calmly. "Is it anyone I know?"  
  
"I don't think so," Craig said. "It's, um, someone older."  
  
"Oh?" In spite of her anger, Ashley actually sounded interested. "A grade eleven? Twelve?"  
  
"No, no," Craig said slowly. "A bit older then that."  
  
Ashley stopped short. "Um, Craig, what's been going on?"  
  
It was time. "You know how I've been taking a photography class this summer?"  
  
"Yeah," Ashley said. "Ellie's in it, too."  
  
"Right," Craig said. "Well...see, there's this new teacher. She was going to teach History at school this year, but she's gone now."  
  
"Why is she gone, Craig?" Ashley's voice was shakey.  
  
"Because...we were seeing each other. And Ellie found out."  
  
"Wait." Ashley looked like she was going into shock. "How old was this lady?"  
  
"I'm not real sure," Craig said slowly. "28, maybe?"  
  
"28?" Ashley's eyes were as wide as Craig had ever seen them. She was going into shock. Oh, God. "What in the hell were you doing with a 28-year-old?" she demanded.  
  
"I don't know," Craig said. "It just...happened."  
  
"Yeah, right." She looked like she was going to cry. Craig hated himself. "Look," she said after a minute of silence, "I asked you at the dance if you were okay, and you said you were. But if you're going around, fucking older women, then..."  
  
"She's the only one!" Craig protested. "And I AM okay, this has nothin to do with my dad dying!"  
  
The silence hung in the air for a minute. Ashley stopped walking and looked at him. "ARE you okay?"  
  
"I told you I was."  
  
"I think you lied to me," Ashley said angrily. She turned around. "Get help, Craig, okay?"  
  
"Ashley!"  
  
"Leave me ALONE, Craig!" she yelled. She turned around. "I can't keep doing this to myself. I can't keep waiting for you to come around. You always do, but...it's agony, you don't get it. I worry and worry about what's going on with you, and you don't even CARE-"  
  
"I DO care, Ash-"  
  
"Whatever," she said, turning on her heel. "Don't call me, don't come over. Goodbye, Craig."  
  
"Ash!" But going after her would do no good. She had meant what she'd said, Craig could see that. There was nothing left for him to do but go home.  
  
He'd really messed up. But he hoped that, maybe, he'd have another chance with her. Someday.  
  
THE END.  
  
**************  
  
I know that a lot of you are going to be pissed off about the ending, but think about it: would YOU take him back? I put myself in Ashley's shoes, and I knew I wouldn't. Thank you, everyone that read this! All of your reviews, critics, praises, ect. were appreciated. I'll try to have another Degrassi story out soon. 


End file.
